KanColle: Broken, not Beaten
by Twitchy1414
Summary: A strange trend has arose in the waters of Europe, the Abyssal fleet is pulling back, heading for the South Pacific...and nobody knows why. Only when a small fleet is sent to investigate will the answer surface. (I Do no Own KanColle nor will I ever. I would also like to extend a huge thanks to CabooseHelpsU, if it wasn't for them, this story would be half of what it is.)
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

EVERY GIRL LEFT BEHIND

((Alright, to set up this fanfiction based on the confusing as balls world and of KanColle, I have to establish and retcon stuff right now so everyone is on board. So, within this version of the Story of KanColle, the events of the anime take place of the coasts of Japan, the movie has not happened yet, and any ship that did not appear in the anime is open for a redesign. So lets enjoy.))

"As soon as we move out past the coast of Denmark, you will be in Abyssal waters. No matter what, you must push forward, you cannot stop! The English are counting on you...good Luck." A sigh escaped form Prinz Eugen's lips when the secretary ship's voice cut off. The Denmark coast was moving past her, the ruins of small fishing villages doting the coast. The sound of lightning snapping her back to reality.

One hundred and fourteen fleet girls were cautiously moving to where the Baltic Sea met with the hazardous waters of the North Sea. Operation Ice Breaker, it was called; a plan to bust through the main Abyssal fleet in the North Sea and create a direct supply link from Germany to the British Isles. With Britain and Ireland under a full naval blockade, the people were teetering on starvation. The fact the Britain was a completely industrialized island nation meant that the amount of farmland needed to feed her people was impossible on their own. The only reason Britain was still standing was the fact that the Royal Navy made sure not a single Abyssal got close enough to do damage.

This however was a problem Germany had yet to face. The Kriegsmarine may have not been as numerous as the British royal Navy, but with the help of Poland and and what remained of Western Russia, they had managed to keep the Abyssal fleets from being able to set their eyes on Copenhagen. Germany and the rest of mainland Europe also had a vest wealth of resources to draw on, and it was time for those resources to have a way to Britain.

"Battle group A, this is Bismarck, assume formation behind me and be prepared for enemy contact. We should be able to slip through and join with the British fleets." Prinz looked around for the distinguishing turrets of Bismarck. The super battleship had pulled in front of the force, and the others began to fall in behind, taking a wedge formation. Prinz was third in the formation, right behind the French battleship, Dunkerque. Across the wedge was Blücher, one of Prinz's sister ships.

"Nervous yet!?" Blücher called out to Prinz, who gave a nervous laugh in reply. "A bit, yes. How about you?"

"Not at all! This time, we finally take the fight to those Abyssal bastards!" Blücher cheered and a small smile grew across Prinz's face. Blücher was always the confident one, and never really hesitated to let anyone know. Unfortunately, her confidence didn't help Prinz. Even as she took deep breaths, her hands trembled and shook.

"Don't worry, it's gonna be okay." A calm voice said behind her. Prinz looked behind her to see the warm smile of Nürnberg. Nürnberg had always been one of Prinz's closest friends; she had been the one to show her the ropes as a cruiser of the Kriegsmarine. She was just a bit shorter than Prinz, but not by much, standing at roughly five foot four. Her white hair was the same colour as snow and it waved back in the wind. She was clad in a large brown fur snow coat, and a pair of woman's dress pants. She bore three triple 15cm cannons; the first two on her shoulders, and the third turret peeped over her shoulder. Upon her legs were two sets of torpedo tubes. Her smokestack and aircraft catapult could be seen on her back.

"Thanks, but it still doesn't help me feel more confident about the fact that this is my first major fight. Sure I've been shot at on coastal patrol, but I've never spearheaded an assault like this!" Prinz replied. Nürnberg glanced over, and gave her a confident nod.

"Don't worry, Bismarck and Dunkerque are gonna be the ones busting through, we just follow behind. Trust me." At this, Prinz smiled. Leave it to her best friend to be so confident.

"Thank you, Nürnburg." The other fleet girl nodded and smiled back. Once again, Prinz turned her gaze forward and noticed Bismark. She was frowning, gazing far into the distance.

"Contact. We have two enemy Battleships and three Destroyers ahead. Wait 'till you have a clear shot to open fire!" called Bismarck, and Prinz scanned the sea ahead. Sure enough, the five ships had spotted them and were now positioning to fire. Prinz held her breath and leveled out her two forward turrets, taking aim at one of the Destroyers. Bearing locked, four 8" cannons armed and at the ready.

"Incoming!" Blücher yelled as the sound of the Abyssal guns opening fire rocked the air, releasing the first volley. Quickly the group darted to the left, leaving the shells to splash harmlessly into the waves. The distance was closed until the Abyssals were at prime range.

"FIRE!" Bismarck screamed. Bismarck's 38.1 cm guns let out a deafening blast, which was shortly followed by the barking of Dunkerque's 33 cm rifles.

"Turrets one and two opening fire." Prinz responded and the two shoulder mounted turrets opened fire in turn. Shots from behind her raced past, as her sister opened fire too. Both Bismarck and Dunkerque found their mark, sending the battleships up in a fiery blast, soon followed by a second explosion as Prinz Eugene's shells blew one of the destroyer to pieces. Bismarck grinned as scraps of metal went flying. Nürnberg's shots also hit home, taking out the second destroyer, when the third Abyssal made its move. Closing the gap in a suicide charge, it unleashed a salvo of torpedoes, speeding at Dunkerque.

"LOOK OUT DUN-" The explosion cut her off as Dunkerque screamed, a spray of water blinding Prinz. Fire licked at her face, causing her to stumble back. Her ears rung wildly, and echoed screams were muffled. As soon as Prinz regained her focus and opened her eyes, Dunkerque was slipping beneath the waves. Prinz lunged for Dunkerque's hand before she slipped away and caught her by the wrist. Prinz heaved the battleship upward, her gear groaning under the pressure.

"Wh...what are you...doing, y-you have orders...go..." Dunkerque groaned in a weak voice as her head surfaced. Prinz shook her head and winced, every part of her body aching as she started to get pulled down.

"I...I can't!" Prinz yelled out. Her kee's started to buckle and Dunkerque slipped below again.

"NO!" Prinz gritted her teeth and pulled back. Another set of hands wrapped around hers and pulled as well.

"She's right, we're not leaving you!" Nürnburg cried out as the two cruisers heaved the Battleship up, only her legs dangling under the water. Prinz coughed as they threw arms over each other's shoulders.

"Damn...you fools," Dunkerque mumbled. The two pushed forward, wind, waves, and rain, hindered their every movement. Prinz raised her headset to her ears and frowned.

"I'm not getting chatter over radio." She looked down and found the headset cord had been ripped from the transmitter and receiver, its wires dangling loosely. "Damn..."

"I'm not getting anything either," Nürnberg mumbled, glancing down forlornly at Dunkerque.

"I can't believe this! Is your electric power is online?" she asked. Prinz looked over at Nürnburg who shook her head.

They continued as the sky darkened, giving a dreary atmosphere to the already terrible situation. After what seemed like an hour without incident, Prinz stopped, squinting at the horizon..

"That's it, the coast is just ov-" A massive roar and towering column of water cut her off.

"WHAT WAS THAT!?" Nürnburg screamed as Prinz struggled to scan the horizon, eventually spotting four Heavy Cruisers coming up on the rear.

"We...can't outrun them, leave...leave me." Dunkerque choked out.

"No, we won't lea - AHHH" Prinz cried as felt a shell smash into her back, sending her to her knees she heard the sound of electricity shorting out and her turrets seized up. She clung to the Warship with all her might and tears appeared in her eyes. "We are all gonna make it..." She croaked. More explosions went off around them and Nürnburg took a direct hit.

"This it...this is where...where we...no" Nürnburg started to cry silently and closed her eyes tightly. The Battleship slumped down beside them and sunk down to her waist in her water. The sound of cannons made Prinz grab Nürnburg's hand tightly. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, waiting for all her efforts to be snuffed out. The seconds seemed like hours as the three ships sat in silence, the only noise being the splashing of the waves and the raindrops on their gear. It was an explosion that broke the silence and Prinze winced, but nothing.

"Did..." Nürnburg mumbled. Prinz slowly and shakily looked up. She turned around to look behind them. Two of the Abyssal Heavy Cruisers were ablaze, floundering about in the waves. The other two had taken their aim off the crippled ships ahead of them and focused on something ahead of them. She looked forward and a hopeful smile appeared on her face. The shapes of three fleet girls were visible in the distance.

"L-look." Prinz said and the two others looked up. The three other girls unleashed another volley. Prinz watched the volley as it traveled through the air, turning around to watch it obliterate the last of the Abyssals.

"We...gotta go," Nürnburg mumbled and staggered back to her feet, putting one of Dunkerque's arms around her shoulder. Prinz staggered up and immediately fell back to her knees with a gasp.

"I can't...move" Prinz cried out. She tried again and fell over. The others were slowly coming towards them. As they got closer, Prinz could make out their appearance. The first girl was clad in a bright red military jacket, with a black knee length skirt. Her short black hair was tucked under a Brodie helmet. The stern of a ship hung from both her hips, two turrets mounted on top, each with four cannons. The other two girls vaguely resembled her in appearance and armament.

"What seems to be the problem ladies?" One of them asked and got down on one knee once close to them. Nürnburg winced and mumble in reply.

"My cannons are knocked out, and the Battleship's hull is completely compromised. We're the only things keeping her on the surface. I don't know what's wrong with her." Prinz watched drop of blood drip from her forehead and into the water before looking up.

"Electrical is out, same with all hydraulics." She said, wiping blood from her face.

"Right, these two will take the her there. And I'll take this one." She motioned to Dunkerque, then to Prinz. The two others moved in tandem to raise the crippled battleship out of the water, her arms supported on each of them. The other pulled Prinz up, having wrapped the cruiser's arms around her neck. Slowly, the girls inched their way to what Prinz assumed was their Naval Base.

"Don't suppose you three are Battle Group A?" asked the red coated ship.

"Yeah" Prinz mumbled. "What's left of us, anyways. Why?"

"We were ordered to be your reception fleet, but there was gonna be five of you." At that, Prinz winced and looked down.

"We got left behind...are you sure the two others didn't go past you?" Nürnburg asked hopefully as she came over beside Prinz, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"The corse you plotted lead directly to us, and we're the first reception fleet. None of the other reception fleets have reported in, so that means they are probably still out there." Prinz gave a soft cry, her eyes brimming with tears. Nürnburg just frowned, and put an arm around her friend

"Shhhh, I'm sure they're still out there, searching for us." At that,Prinz looked over at her and forced a smile.

"Yeah...they wouldn't leave us...they probably turned back as they noticed we had fallen behind, and we passed them without notice." Dunkerque sighed, choosing to remain silent.

Soon they could see the English coast peeking over the horizon. The ragtag fleet quickly got close, hugging the safety of the coast. Prinz could see civilians, standing on shore and waving the Union Jack. They could now be heard cheering out for the ships. Some even had the flag of Germany, waving around in the flurry of blue.

"Hey George, shouldn't ya radio command and let them know we got the girlies with us?" One of the Girls helping Dunkerque asked the Girl towing Prinz. George nodded and raised a hand to her ear.

"This is Reception Fleet One, reporting. We have received three members of Battle Group A. We are currently two hours past Newcastle." She lowered her hand and smiled. "There we go, once we get back, we'll get you gals right to the docks." Prinz nodded and sighed. She peeked back at Nürnburg, who was looking at her hands with wide eyes; her trembling hands stained a dark crimson.

"Will you be okay?" Prinz asked worriedly. Nürnburg hurriedly looked up at her and gave a weak smile.

"Yeah...I just got hit in the side, but I'm fine." She rubbed Prinz's shoulder and sighed. "Don't worry, it's me who should be worried about you. You took a pretty nasty hit, you know." Prinz just shrugged.

"I'm really light headed, and...and I can't feel my legs." Startled, Nürnburg glanced up and down Prinz' body, looking worriedly at her.

"I'm sure you'll get better. We need you after all." Prinz laughed a bit, looking forward.

She replied, grinning wryly, "Trust me, Hipper or Blücher can do twice as much as I can. They have much more experience."

"Don't say that, in a week or two you'll be just as experienced as them, I'm sure." At that, Prinz just nodded and looked forward. She watched as the British coast rolled by, and soon they were entering a base near Edinburgh. British ships were waiting in the harbor, staring as the three warships were slowly brought in. They watched deadpanned, expressionless, as if nothing phased them.

The base was massive, Prinz noticed; what appeared to be over one hundred various structures. To the far left, an airfield and multitude of hangars sat, and to the right loomed what appeared to be an administrative building. This was nothing to speak of the bristling fortifications and guns scattered all about the harbor. Once ashore, they were quickly stripped of their gear rushed to the repair docks.

"Well, hope this will help. Ah, who am I kidding, it always does. You've got a nice view of the water as ships come in, and Wales will keep you company." George said and walked back towards the door, gave them an open palmed salute, then stepping out. Prinz immediately was up against the window and watched as ground and mechanical crews below ran around and prepared for other ships to come in.

"Girlie, it's best not to watch, you'll see things you wish didn't." Prinz turned around and saw Prince of Wales in the central pool. Her chocolate coloured hair was at neck length and choppily cut, freckles dotting her nose and under her eyes.

"I've seen combat wounds before. I'll be fine, and I need to find my friends." Without thought, she turned back turned back to view the water. Squinting, Egen saw yet another group of warships, staggering into the harbor. She didn't recognize any of them but... it didn't take away from her shock. Two ships in the back were stained crimson, one of which was missing an arm. She backed away from the window, fighting the urge to vomit.

"Oh God." The words were all she could muster. She sank to her knees and looked down into the water, horrified.

"I told you." Wales murmured.

"Can you lay off her, she's just worried, our friends are out there!" Nürnburg snapped back.

"No, she was right..." Prinz mumbled, frowning as she went to the edge of her pool, resting her head on her hands on the tile floor.

"Sorry, we're just used to it here. The Abyssals have been trying hard to crack our defenses and things usually get pretty brutal." Wales said, coming to the edge of the central pool. She sighed and grabbed Prinz's hand.

"It's okay...and I still haven't said thank you." Prinz Eugen said, looking up just as the door was suddenly thrown open. The screams of agony echoed through the room and Prinz turned to see what was going on. A girl was being guided to one of the pools. A bright red cloth was wrapped around her head, covering her eyes.

"Oh my god..." Nürnburg gagged, hurriedly looking anywhere but the injured shipgirl. Prinz gulped and stared in fascinated horror as the girl was placed in one of the pools across the room.

"Wales, we need you out there! The main transport fleet got ambushed in rough seas. It was a massacre, we won't have enough room in the docks," barked a ship girl. Wales nodded, standing up. She was soon gone, and the three wounded ships alone. Sighing, Prinz rested her head back down, closing her eyes. The whimpers and cries echoed in her mind as she drifted off to sleep.

Prinz Eugen was confused.

"Prinz!" A voice echoed. She was standing in the middle of the ocean. All around her, a crimson sky seemingly glared at her, and a sea of oily black water rippled. "Wha-..." She strained to see where the voice had come from.. "W-where am I?"

"You left us...why?" The voice echoed again. She...she recognized that voice!

"H-Hipper, where...where are you? Did you make it safely without telling me?"

"It's so cold, join us." Moaned another voice. Prinz shuddered, recognizing Blücher's voice. She felt tears in her eyes.

"S-stop it...you, you're scaring me!" She cried out. Only then did she she notice the black water, slowly creeping up her legs, coating her, turning her as dark as the water. She tried to wipe it off with her hands, but they too became covered in the dark substance. Her fingers locked up, her hands felt colder than ice."See, doesn't that feel better?" Hipper's voice crooned, eerily.

"What are you doing!?" She cried before collapsing to her knees. The water started crawling up her arms, even faster now. Screaming, she looked up to the sky in despair. "STOP!"

"It's okay, its better here. You can be with us now," came the voices. The water crept over her chest, her equipment and rigging falling away. Air was sucked from her lungs, her entire body freezing up. The dark substance had reached her neck, now flooding and pooling into her mouth. She gurgled as it flooded down her throat, tears streaming down her face.

"Hussshhhh, it's okay now, just rest with us," Hipper said, facing Prinz and laughing a cruel, harsh laugh. Prinz choked and writhed, her lungs overflowing with the chilling fluid. It streamed through her nose, and Eugen closed her eyes.

"Hey. Prinz. Hey! you can leave the docks now," A new voice said. Prinz screamed and opened her eyes. She was back in the docks, with Nürnburg standing over her in uniform. "Are you alright? They said we are good to go now."

Prinz looked up, cheeks flushing.

"Oh...y-yeah." She sitting up, she sighed as she stretched her arms over her head.. "Thanks, I was just resting."

"Yeah, well hurry up, so we can get you something to eat." Nürnburg said, smiling as she walked out. Taking in her surroundings, Prinz saw that every single pool was occupied with other ship girls, and most of which were sleeping. Several carried agonized expressions, twitching and groaning in pain. Prinz took in a shaky breath. What had just happened? It was just a dream right!? But it was so real…

She rubbed her head and slowly stood up. She grabbing the towel hung from the railing, covered herself as she climbed out of the pool. Taking one last glance at her surroundings, she saw that Dunkerque was still there, passed out and leaning up against the wall of her dock. She didn't see anyone else that she knew, but winced at the sight of the girl from earlier that had a bandaged face. Prinz shook her head and walked across the tile floor. Pushing the door open, she was immediately met with a girl in a brown trench coat and thick framed sunglasses.

"Name?" Prinz just blinked. "Well!? I haven't got all day!"

"Oh...Prinz Eugen," She blurted. The girl in the trenchcoat nodded.

Turning her head over her shoulder, she called, "You can cross Prinz Eugen of the list; send in the next one!"

"Roger that!" Came a muffled voice out in the hallway. Soon a another ship hobbled in with a pair of crutches, and slowly lowered herself into the berths. Prinz sighed again, wandering into the dressing room. She found her uniform folded neatly in a locker. Slowly getting dressed, she gazed into her reflection of the adjacent mirror. Her dirty blond hair was still tied back in a ponytail, and her green eyes had dark rings of fatigue around them. A pair of kriegsmarine headphones hung loosely around her neck, complemented by night goggles on her forehead. Her top was an M1910/14 field blouse over a dark green dress shirt. Her dark red skirt and black leggings finished off the uniform, along with a pair of red hiking boots. A tiny smile emerged from her face as she walked back out into the hallway, brushing past the girl in the trench coat without a word. She was greeted with a line of the wounded, strewn across the floor like the flotsam of a storm.

"Why are they all just sitting here?" Prinz asked Nürnburg, who was leaning against the wall.

"The docks is crowded, as I'm sure you saw for yourself." Prinz grimaced, and looked around. Her eyes drifted to a girl with a clipboard, standing next to a large whiteboard. At the top it was labeled 'Casualty List'. Below were about fifty or sixty names, some of them crossed out. She started to walk closer to read the names, but stopped when Nürnburg grabbed her arm.

"Come on, let's go." She said with a smile, pulling her away. Prinz made to follow her, but not without wistfully glancing back at the casualty board. Exiting the dockyard, they strolled along a road that ran through the middle of the base. Prinz Eugen was glad to leave the dreary building, depressed by the morbid atmosphere. Outside though, the mood was very different. A group of girls were playing of game of football, using jackets as goal posts. To the side of the field, another bunch of girls were chatting and eating snacks. Walking past, Nürnburg smiled, "We could have a game later, if ya want. I know how much you like to play." Prinz shrugged, not feeling any motivation. "Yeah, perhaps."

They continued on their way, passing buildings labeled in English, with paper signs with the German translation tagged below. Coming to the mess hall, Nürnburg grinned cheekily, bowing."After you."

Prinz just rolled her eyes and marched through the door. The room that greeted her was spartan, with only basic wooden tables in columns of two to populate the space. The walls were dotted with black and white photos of warships. The tables were empty, except for two tables next to each other.

"Place is kinda drab, huh?" Nürnburg grumbled, Prinz rolling her eyes.

"Not like they've had the time to take a break and decorate like we have, remember?" Prinz exclaimed, sighing.

"Spoilsport," was all that Nurnberg said. Seeing that none of the tables were very inviting, Eugen was just about to suggest they leave when someone stood up, calling."You gals wanna sit with us?"

Prinz was about to respond in the negative when Nürnburg placed her hands on her shoulders.

"We would love to!" Nürnburg cheered, pushing Prinz forward. They made their way to the table, sizing the scene. Three girls were playing a game of cards with a couple pounds thrown in the middle of the table.

"Grab a menu and order something," suggested a younger looking ship girl. A light cruiser, perhaps? Prinz grabbed a menu off the table, sitting down. Nothing seemed decent; chicken noodle soup, eggs, and creamed corn was all they had to choose from. Folding up the menu, she decided to watch the card game.

"What game are you playing?" Whatever it was, it wasn't familiar to her. But then again, Prinz never played cards.

"Kings in the corner. Ever heard of it?" Prinz shook her head, and the cruiser rolled her eyes "We'll deal you in, if you got any cash."

"I don't, sorry."

"Eh, whatever. Oh, I'm Dublin by the way, and this destroyer right here is Sherwood." Prinz raised her eyebrow, and Nürnburg grinned.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Nürnburg and this is..."She paused as if expected Prinz to fill in. "Prinz Eugen, but she appears to be very quiet right now."

"All good, mate. All good." Sherwood looked at the other girls at the table. "Did ya hear that some secret service chap is supposed to stopping by today?" The other two shook their head.

"Why? When would they show up?" Prinz asked.

"I have no fu-" Nürnburg glared at the destroyer, silencing the vulgar outburst. "Flipping clue..." she sighed."Here we can explain this to you. So, first yo-" She was once again interrupted, this time by the intercom system.

"Could ships Hood, Prince of Wales, Tirpitz, Prinz Eugen, Nürnburg, Dublin, Lancaster, Churchill, and Ark Royal please report to the Admiralty's office, effective immediately." Dublin slammed her hand on the table, hard.

"Really, we were just…the higher ups need to f* off..." Prinz looked at Nürnburg, and they frowned.

"What do you think this is this about?" Prinz asked, quietly.

"Only one way to find out…" Nürnburg gave a predatory grin.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

THE NEXT GREAT CRUSADE

Prinz Eugen watched with unease as Dublin threw open the door, marching in with Sherwood in tow.

"Alright, what now? We can't be left alone for five minutes!?!" Sherwood complained. Prinz glanced at Nürnberg and frowned, slowly peeking her head in the door as the argument raged on.

"Well? Let's not keep them waiting." Nürnberg said with her trademark 'I don't want to be here, but oh well' smile, pushing Prinz from behind. Stumbling forward, Prinz took in her new surroundings. What she saw amazed her.

The vast room had an elegance to it, something that was in stark contrast to the rest of the buildings. The walls were painted a crisp white, and the floor was a dark hardwood. Intricate trimmings lined the floorboards and around the door. Natural light flooded into the room through an overhead stained glass window, covering the floor in assortments of reds and blues.

A large oak table, seemingly themed from the Victorian era, stretched across the room, with matching chairs surrounding the table. There was even a crystal chandelier hanging from above, filling the rest of the space with pinpricked light. Fleet girls mostly populated the space, talking about things Prinz couldn't care enough to notice.

"Look at this…" Nürnberg mumbled, just as shocked as Prinz. Putting on fake grins, they hurried through the doorway..

This room….she hated it. Why would one room be so lavish when every other building on base fell into disrepair? It was as if they didn't care about the base, rather than not having enough resources.

A click came from behind them as the door was closed. Prinz turned to see a man standing at the door. He was short, with Prinz and Nürnberg towering over him. A bushy grey mustache sat above his lip, seemingly to compensate for the lack of hair anywhere on his blindingly shiny head. A pair of round glasses sat upon his large nose, ridiculously small in comparison. He reached into the pockets of his black dress suit and pulled out a pack of cigars.

He lit one, placing it into his mouth, and took a long drag before mumbling.

"It seems you all are here...please have a seat."

His voice was of sandpaper, it's raspiness was probably the only thing that gave his small stature a trace of dominance. Nevertheless, the girls took seats around the table. He went to one of the chairs at the head of the table and grabbed a rolled up map. Slowly, he rolled it out, placing small weights on each corner.

"Please excuse this sudden meeting, but there was no better time." His voice gravelled as he took a seat.

"Really~?! I couldn't even get my uniform on!" Dublin snapped. Prinz noticed that, indeed, Dublin was dressed quite unprofessionally, only wearing pajamas and pink slippers. Actually….most of the ship girls were in a similar state of dress, with hair curlers and wet hair.

"Quiet, you!!" Someone at the end of the table shouted and Dublin slumped down in her seat. Prinz fought the urge to balk at the...lack...of discipline.

"Thank you…" The man said with a sigh. "First things first, I might as well introduce myself. I am Sir John William O'Neill, Chief of MI6." There was murmur that quickly died out. "Now to the point of this meeting. The Abyssals are falling back." The man sighed as Nürnberg shot her hand up.

"Not to be disrespectful sir, but we crossed the North sea just hours ago, and it sure as hell didn't seem like they were falling back." O'Neill nodded, as if what the cruiser had said was the most obvious thing in the world, taking yet another long drag of his Cigar.

"Well, let me rephrase, they are falling back today. You were, in fact, supposed to attack today when their fleet was at its weakest. Unfortunately, it appears someone put down the wrong day." Prinz' veins popped as she clenched her fist.

"How on earth could you give us the WRONG ATTACK DAY!?!?" Prinz abruptly stood up fuming. Her heart pumped like a rabbit having a heart attack as she slammed her hand down.

"Now now, it's okay...let's just calm down now..." Nürnberg grabbed her hand and tugged her back, unease present on her face. Prinz yanked her hand back and stared into the man's beady eyes. He frowned, sweat glistening down his face.

"Well, I say!...if you hadn't made us use your stupid coding machines, we wouldn't have had th-" Prinz cut his response off, now seeing red.

"Ohhh, you mean our Enigma machines? Well maybe if your codes hadn't been cracked, WE COULD'VE USE THEM!!" Prinz shrieked, barely resisting the urge to strangle the Chief of MI6.

"ALRIGHT THAT'S ENOUGH!!!" Some other shipgirl at the head of the table yelled, standing up. Still red in the face, Prinz stared at her.

"Both of you...calm down. What matters now is that we have a supply line. And yes...we messed up, and we're sorry. Now, will you please take a seat" It wasn't a question as much as it was an order; sighing, Prinz complied. She was dressed in a woman's royal navy uniform, quite a few medals donned on her...ample...chest. On her hip, a navy officers sword swayed gently. Prinz lowered herself back into her seat and and took a deep breath to collect herself. Painting her face with a picture of calm, she smiled.

"Forgive me, Mr O'Neill…Please, continue." The man nodded and stood up.

"*Ahem* Over the past couple of months, the RAF has been noticing irregular fleet movements in the channel. At first we assumed they were moving a small part of the blockade up north to finish off Iceland. We had sent out a few planes to follow them, and the results surprised us. Every group that broke off from the blockade has headed directly south." He grabbed a marker and drew a line that curved south around the tip of Brittany. "And even more unusual, our radio teams in Iceland have reported that the Abyssals halted their bombing of the inland towns and villages for over a month now."

"But...weren't they were carpet bombing the country to cut off our communications with North America?" One of the british ships blurted out.

"Indeed they were. But it appears that their aircraft carriers have vanished, gone without a trace." Absolute silence settled over the room before O'Neill opened his mouth again. "Following these reports, MI6 decided to investigate. For one week, we pumped every airwave and frequency across the channel with broadcasts from the BBC, interfering with Abyssal transmissions. This inference had the desired effect as has it forced their fleets to communicate with more tangible pieces of information. The RAF managed to intercept a messenger aircraft and capture the message."

This brought a gasp of surprise; Abyssal weaponry was notoriously difficult to capture. Both the British and German shipgirls had flashbacks of U-110, who's capture by the British had led to the breaking of the original Enigma coding in 1940.

"We decoded the message, and...well, it's results are the reason you are here. This message was decoded last week." He reached into his suit's pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. He slowly unfolded and sighed. "The forces blockading the British Isle are to be vastly reduced and sent to the Southwest Pacific." Setting the paper down, he continued. "The RAF has recently reported that the fleet movements are, indeed, underway, in spite our recent success." He slowly sat back down, the silence eating away at the room.

"So...you gathered us here...to say that we won!?" One of the girls asked. John smiled a bit.

"Not quite. We want to send a small fleet to the South Pacific and investigate."

"So why not just ask a country in the South Pacific?"Dublin mumbled.

O'Neill sighed."You don't think we thought of that? Our communications can only reach so far. Countries like the United States, as you know, are out of our communication range. That's why our radio towers in Iceland and Greenland are so important, and why the Abyssals worked so hard to cripple them. We can't communicate across Russia as Eastern Russia is a nuclear wasteland. Nothing has been coming or going from there. Last we knew,China was in a civil war for nearly twenty years now. India has refused to communicate outside of their borders, and USA doesn't have the reach to communicate to Japan, Australia, or New Zealand. Sufficient to say, we're blind."

Prinz huffed and raised an eyebrow. This was what MI6, the "best" intelligence department in the world, had to say?

"So...you want us, at this table, to Crusade across the world, to the South Pacific, not knowing what we'll face, try to talk to people we don't even know still exist, and find out what's going on."Dublin asked, failing to keep sarcasm out of her voice.

"Precisely." The man nodded in a most sagely fashion. Dublin burst out laughing.

"Ha...you can get f*ked, you daft old codger! There is no way you can get me or anyone else here to waltz across the world in the middle of Abyssal territory!!" There was murmur of agreeance, plenty of it coming from Prinz and Nurnberg respectively.

"Excuse her language but she is right. That is completely unreasonable, and the admiral would never agree such mission." Wales, who was sitting on the other side of the table, exclaimed.

"W-well, that choice is not up to the 'admiral' right now. This is of higher priority than marching valuable resources up and down the coast, not accomplishing anything"

"Really? Enlighten us then, whose choice is it?" Before he could reply, she cut him off again. "Trick question mate, it's certainly not yours!" Sherwood shouted from across the table.

"Excellent question, dear. Would you like to speak with them??" The intelligence Director said with a Cheshire grin.

"Yes I would. This is completely unreasonable, and whoever ordered this should be lined up against the wall for treason against the crown and the gover...oh" Dublin had started ranting at the Chief, but was struck speechless as two figures entered the room from the another door at the back.

Faster than Dublin could say 'Bugger', the British ships immediately scrambled to their feet. Prinz glanced over at Nürnberg and the only other person who was seated. Prinz sighed and took a better look at the two people who entered the room.

A slender woman with long, wavy red hair, led the way. She was dressed in a standard business suit, and holding a clipboard.

Behind her was someone even taller, nearly six foot five. His grey and blonde hair covered his head, and a large mustache donned his upper lip. Bags hung under his eyes, as if he had not slept in months. Despite this, his face was warm and kind. He was dressed in a bright red uniform with a black sash running across his chest..

It took about five seconds before Prinz realized why everyone was standing. Her hands started to shake as she slowly rose to her feet. Sir O'Neill bowed low, nearly hitting his head on the table.

"Madam Prime Minister. Your Majesty. It is an honor for you to join us." Nürnberg shot to her feet, along with Prinz, as if a firecracker was about to go off in their seats.

"Wait...th-thats, thats the K...K…" Prinz stuttered, wide eyed.

"Shut it…" Dublin mumbled under her breath.

"Yes, this is His Majesty, The King." The Prime Minister said with a smile.

"You flatter me Rose, but I would prefer my subjects and their comrades call me George. Please be at ease." The British ships relaxed a bit, but their faces remained stern. "Please be seated ladies." Prinz and the others slowly lowered into their seats. "Now I understand some of you here are in objection to the proposed mission."

"None at all your majesty." Dublin shot out, sitting up with a ramrod back. The Prime Minister laughed, not unlike a mother catching a child with a hand in the cookie jar.

"Come on now, nobody would blame you for that attitude."

"Rose here is right. I may be old and out of touch, but I know a worried face when I see one. You have permission to speak freely." King George said as he leaned on the table. Dublin took a deep breath before opening her mouth again.

"Yes...alright. I don't doubt your judgement, but I believe this plan is quite foolish. The logistics alone are just a nightmare...and...and if we reach the South Pacific, we'll have no way to communicate back." The King nodded and sighed.

"I understand your worry, I truly do. But Rose and I believe that this is viable strategy. Whatever is causing the Abyssals to abandon the blockade, it is worth investigating. If another nation has put up this stiff resistance, we need to contact them." He said with a smile.

"I understand...but once again, we'll have no way to communicate back here, do you honestly expect that we can make repeated voyages back and forth?"

"We've already thought of that." Prime Minister Elizabeth Rose piped up. "We were recently able to get a satellite into low Earth orbit. It make a full rotation of the Earth every forty eight hours. This means that, once in the south pacific, you set up a radio tower, and broadcast information to the satellite when its overhead. The satellite will pass over the UK, and broadcast the information back down to us." She exclaimed with a giddy joy. Dublin offered no further objection, and none of the other fleet girls seemed to have except for Prinz.

"It's an honor to be in your presence your Majesty, but, how does this apply to me, and more over the other german ships in this room? We don't answer to you or your government." Prinz asked in the most respectful way possible, her heart feeling like it was gonna explode. The King smiled and came over to her side of the table, giving her a pat of the shoulder.

"Not to worry, we contacted your Chancellor and Navy Command, both have agreed in the necessity of this mission." Prinz smiled.

"Glad to hear it." It was a huge lie; she wasn't glad to hear it. Smiling fondly, the king patted her shoulder once more and walked back over to the Prime Minister. Once again the Chief of MI6 decided he would address the group.

"I hope that should clear things up. So once again, your mission is to reach the South Pacific. Secretary Ship Hood will be joining you, and will assist in planning on how you get to the South Pacific. In the words of General Eisenhower, "You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months."...we will leave you here to plan." The British Fleet Girls rose to there feet and gave and gave a salute as the three made their exit. Prinz, and Nürnberg, were once again a little behind the rest, only standing up once the trio was almost out of the room. The door closed with a click and everyone just stared for a few moments.

"Right...what...what the f*k?" Sherwood mumbled, rubbing her forehead in confusion.

"Alright, let's get this sorted out." The Secretary at the head of the table who had lectured Prinz earlier said. Prinz gave a gasp of recognition as Hood walked around the table so that she was directly above the UK at the map. Now that the secretary ship was closer, Prinz noticed more about her. Her face was dotted with freckles, and it looked like her uniform was about to burst apart at the chest. Prinz sighed and sat back down, burying her face in her hands. Behind her she heard the faint sound of muffled footsteps getting louder until someone three open the door just behind them.

"I'm here, don't worry!!" Someone shouted and the room froze. Prinz turned in her seat and looked at the girl who had just entered the room, the girl looked familiar, but she couldn't match a name to the face.

"Ah yes, Tirpitz, we were just about to get started, take a seat." Hood mumbled, he tone was not a friendly one. Tirpitz quietly sat down next to Prinz and sighed.

"This is actually dumb." Nürnberg exclaimed. "Might as well be suicide mission." At this, Hood frowned.

"No, no its not. I understand this is a delicate operation, so we need to work together to plan this operation." Prinz looked up and sighed. "Lets begin with our formation."

"We can use the wedge formation, and, and maybe we put Ark Royal in the center. That way she's protected from torpedoes." Sherwood suggested nonchalantly.

"Awww, your so sweet!" Ark Royal said with a giggle, clapping her hands a little.

"I-it was just a suggestion, no n-need to overreact." Sherwood mumbled looked down, hiding a smile. Dublin laughed and poked her shoulder.

"Is little Shermy blu-"

"I will f*ing kill you!!" Sherwood snapped at Dublin before she could even finish the sentence.

"You two, cut it out!" Hood pointed her finger at them from across the table.

"If I might make a suggestion." Tirpitz mumbled timidly." Protecting our carrier is important, but the wedge formation is too spread out, based on what I saw in the North Sea crossing. I would recommend a strategy implemented during the Battle of the Thames. The premise was the rows of ships, side by side. You placed thee ship with the most forward firepower at the front, and had the sides flanked by the stronger ships. The more vulnerable or essential ships were in the center column, and the destroyers brought up the rear so they could break off with torpedo attacks." Everyone just stared at her for a moment, causing her to bring her hands to her chest. "O-Oh, I'm sorry…"

"No no, that's a good idea." Hood quickly said. "I wasn't deployed in the Battle of the Thames, but I'm assuming it worked well since we won. What was the formation called again."

"It was called 'The Kings Row' by King George V, she was the lead ship." Hood nodded and wrote it down.

"Well then, I think it goes without saying that Wales and York have the most forward firepower, so which of you wants to be the lead ship?" Wales put her hand up, brushing her messy hair out of her face.

"I'll do it" Hood went to write the name down whe York pulled Wales hand down.

"No your not, I'll take lead."

"York, I can do it, I'll be fine!!"

"I don't care, I said I'm doing it." York growled.

"York, you're being unreasona-."

"I said you are not taking lead...is that clear?" Cowed at the vehement reaction, Wales nodded, looking down.

"Right. York is taking lead. Obviously Royal will be in center, along with Nürnberg and Dublin, their anti-aircraft fire will be needed to protect her from bombs. Sherwood and Churchill will be in the rear, and the rest of us Battleships and Heavy Cruisers will be in the flanks."

"Oh, I feel so special!" Royal giggled and pulled her scarf up to her face.

"You are our only carrier, and from what we know, the enemy carriers have moved to the pacific. We would have had two Carriers, but...Graf Zeppelin didn't make the crossing." Hood mumbled and looked down.

"Wait...what do you mean she didn't make it?" Nürnberg jumped up and looked around, eyes wide.

"Her fleet was meet with stiff resistance and was pushed farther north into a killing field; all of them were torpedoed." Hood calmly answered, as if talking about the results of a football game. Prinz felt sick, lowering her head to the table as she gave a silent cry of despair.

"Right...what's next?"

"Well, second of course, we have to figure out how to get there. Obliviously it's too dangerous to cross directly across the pond, so we can just island hop, going along Iceland, Greenland, then we hit North America. From there, we only really have one option." A hand suddenly shot up, belonging to a destroyer.

"Yes Churchill?" Hood groaned.

"We are gonna go through Panama right!?" She excused in a most painfully excited manner.

"Yes...we are…" At this, Churchill cheered and clapped."I knew it!! Tropical sunshine for daaaays!"

"Yes yes,v~ery diligent of you." Hood muttered under her breath. "Anyway, yes, we will obviously take the Panama Canal to the Pacific. That is where the danger begins. We have to know where we are going to land. Obliviously, the closest and most attractive landing points are New Zealand, the Philippines, and Japan."

She circled to the island nations. "But we can still land at Korea, or Australia." Prinz leaded forward to look for other locations and noticed something a bit strange. Her map she had on her wall was a pre-war map, but this map, it appeared to be completely up to date. She first notice the fact that China was no longer the massive country it once . was, but split into six warring factions. Another noticeable change was that on this map, there was only one Korea, compared to her map, which still had the two countries splitting the peninsula.

"Is something wrong?" Hood said and Prinz looked up at her.

"No...I just noticed this map is different from mine at home."

"Ah, I suppose you have a map made in 2030s, this one of course is up to date within the month. With the oceans cut off, the U.N. has all but dissolved and countries can do as they please. How up to date are you on world events?"

"Not very, I don't tend to pay attention to the news." Hood nodded.

"Well let me catch you up. First, let me draw your attention to the middle east. As you can see, Turkey has expanded throughout the region. Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, all gone, and with Saudi Arabia controlling the entire Arabian Peninsula; honestly, it's not long before a major conflict breaks out in the region. Closer to home, Great Britain ceded Northern Ireland to the Irish Republic last year. The USA has been down a state since 2045, as it was more efficient for Canada to control Alaska. Finally Argentina and Brazil have been at war since the beginning on the decade."

"The world is tearing itself apart..."Prinz sighed, wondering what else would change in the coming year..

"Precisely, and that's is why this mission is vital; if we can't reclaim the oceans, we might as well go back to the dark ages." Prinz nodded at this and slowly sat back down. Was this mission worth the risk, restoring world peace was a noble cause, but was it worth the life of her friends? Was it worth her own life? Perhaps, but she would have to think on that.

"Well, perhaps we can wrap up this meeting. After all, you all seem a bit peckish. I'll get a truck sent into town so we can restock on our supplies and rations. Dis~missed!." Hood barked, a hint of cheer evident across her face.

The room erupted in quiet conversation as Nürnberg grinned at Prinz. "Looks like we can go now."

"Hold on a second…" Prinz quietly stood, looking pale.

"What? Is something wrong?" Prinz just shook her head. She took a moment to hold her friend's hand on her shoulder before brushing it off as she marched across the room. Secretary ship Hood was packing a set of papers into a worn leather briefcase, seemingly oblivious to the Heavy Cruiser.

"Excuse me, miss Hood, could I ask you a question?" Prinz inquired, barely audible above the din of the room. The secretary ship stood up, adjusting her naval cap, as she gave a dazzling smile.

"Why of course you may, Prinz...Eugen wasn't it? I'm quite excited to have you along with us."

"Um, I was just wondering why you chose me, even if I am a Hipper class. Von Hipper and Blücher are far more experienced." She mumbled. Hood gave her a kind smile and locked up her briefcase.

"Well we can only use people who are actually here right? Besides, you've already proven yourself in combat against me!" She gave a kind laugh, not unlike that of a mother consoling her child. However, Prinz felt her chest tighten, gripped by an iron cold.

"W-what…" She struggled to breath, mouth gasping like a fish, eyes wide. Hood's expression changed and soon she realized what she just said.

"Oh...I-I'm sorry, you must not have heard." Prinz backed up and gulped, panic racing across her face. She felt Nürnberg take her hand gently, as if that alone would comfort the last of the Hipper class

"Lets go…" She murmured quietly and Prinz pulled away. She whirled around, pushing past the last of the errant shipgirls as they went through the door. Over the storm of very imaginative curses, Prinz heard her best friend shouting.. "Prinz!! Come back!!" Nürnberg's voice was laced with panic, but the words held no weight. Prinz sprinted down the hall of the small office building, pushing past anyone in her way, her footsteps muffled by the soft carpet. She flung the exit doors open and took off for the docks.

"They are just in the docks, they have to be…" She whispered to herself as she ran, tears forming in her eyes. Had her nightmare been telling her this all along? She nearly in tears as she approached the group still playing football, one of them shouting to her.

"Oi, pass!!" Said ship girl kicked it toward Prinz, who just ended up kicking it her sprint, causing it to fly through the air and bounce off the pier and into the water. The girl frowned, "Wow...what a b*h."

The word would have normally stung, but Prinz kept running, throwing open the door to the building that housed the docks. She ran down the hallway, her feet clicking against the tile. No one was in the hallway and she practically flew through the two sets of doors into the dock.

"Hipper!? Blücher!?" She cried out, looking around. No one responded. Prinz scanned everyface, double, no, triple checking them, but no luck. She slowly walked back out into the hallway and tears streamed down her face. She looked over to the white board that was on the wall, the one Nürnberg had pulled her, the casualty list.

Prinz took an uneasy step towards in and looked through the list of names. She found what she didn't want to find. One after the other she found three names in blood red ink; Von Hipper, Blücher, and Bismarck. Her heart, already in danger of cracking, shattered to a thousand pieces.

"N-no…" She croaked and sunk to the floor, covering her face as silent tears streamed down. She sobbed quietly and curled up against a wall. Memories flashed in her mind; opening christmas presents, celebrating birthdays, playing football….but it didn't matter. Her sisters were gone, her friends were gone...she had abandoned them out there, she left them...afraid...and alone. It was painful, so painful, it all hurt!

As she sat there, the faint sound of shoes clicking on the tile grew louder until they stopped next to her. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her, and they rested their head against hers.

"I'm so, so sorry." Nürnberg whispered to her, quietly hushing Prinz Eugen's sobs. Prinz didn't know how long this lasted. A minute? An hour? Prinz slowly looked up at her, sniffling.

"I...I…" Nürnberg brushed Prinz's hair from her face, whipping away her tears.

"Shhhh, you're okay…" She continued to console her, whispering nonsensical comfort. Pinz threw herself onto Nürnberg and sobbed, burying her face into her shoulder. She felt Nürnberg kiss the side of her head gently,"We're okay, we're okay…" Prinz was so cold, so alone, how could anyone be okay after this?

As if sensing this, Nürnberg squeezed her more tightly, not knowing the answer herself, as they sobbed into the night.

Authors Note:(Well thats chapter two for you, done and dusted. Sorry for the lack of action in this chapter, but the next few chapters will almost be all dialogue. I would once again like to thank CaboosehelpsU, who well, helped me with this chapter and enriched it's content, so go check them out. Please leave a review, it's the only way I get better)


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

FUN AND DREAMS

Prinz groaned and opened her eyes. The room was dark, and Prinz really couldn't make out shapes in the darkness. She yawned quietly and looked over her shoulder. Behind her, Nürnberg was pressed up against Prinz, her arms tightly wrapped around Prinz.

"Nürnberg...hey." She mumbled, moving one of her arms down. Nürnberg yawned and murmured something incoherently. Prinz sighed and slowly sat up, taking a better looked around the room as she didn't get a good view of it last night.

It's was nothing special, an old meeting room in the barracks that had the chairs and table pushed to one end. This was done to make room for the fleet girls who had made the crossing and didn't have a place to sleep. Wall to wall, the floor was covered in sleeping bags, cots, and mattresses.

Prinz pushed herself up off the mattress, staggering to her feet, stopping when she felt a hand tug on her leg.

"Where are you going?" Nürnberg mumbled, face down on a pillow.

"Up," she frowned, trying to navigate the sea of fleet girls out cold on the floor, being careful not to step on anyone.

"That's descriptive." Nurnberg groaned and rolled over onto her back.

She made her way across the rest of the room towards the door. She slowly opened it and Nürnberg quietly called after her. "Hey, hol-" Prinz closed the door behind herself and sighed, pausing for a brief moment in the drab hallway. She let go of the door knob and rubbed her head. She was _not_ a morning person.

Prinz spent the next ten minutes trying to navigate the confusing layout of the barracks. She eventually stumbled across the washroom, and immediately looked in the mirror.

Her eyes were red from crying, and the very little makeup she actually wore had been washed away. Her uniform was wrinkled from having slept in it, but that didn't bother her. For a brief moment, she considered putting her makeup back on but decided not to. She looked down and felt a lump form in the throat, causing her to bite her lip. Prinz looked back up in the mirror and gulped.

"Calm down...it's okay…" She murmured, reassuring herself as a few tears slipped down her face. She sniffled and grabbed a piece of paper towel blowing her nose.

" 'Scuse me, might I get you to move over just a smidge." Prinz froze for a moment and turned around to face Prince of Wales. She was already dressed in her uniform and had a small let her bag in it. Prinz could see when Wales saw her tears, her expression turned to that of concern.

"Oh dear, are you alright?" She stooped down a tiny bit to Prinz's level and put her hands on her shoulders.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Prinz mumbled and lowered her gaze to the floor.

"You just wait outside, okay." Wales said, but it was less of a request and more of a demand. Prinz nodded meekly and brushed past her, leaving the washroom and standing outside the door. Every part of her body wanted to run, to leave and hide somewhere, but she couldn't, hiding wouldn't solve anything.

"Let's go grab some breakfast," Wales said suddenly, making Prinz jump. "The first shipment of food came in, Ukrainian grain, French eggs, German pork." Wales looked like she was gonna start drooling just talking about the food. "Potatoes from Russia...sorry, we just haven't had good food in a while." Prinz nodded, but she knew she couldn't really understand how rare a full course meal was here, in Germany, they had all that on demand, no one bothered to think where it came from, or that it could run out.

"Sounds nice." That was all she could really say. Wales nodded and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Well don't keep me waiting," Wales said jokingly, the two of them beginning to walk. Just like all the other buildings, this one too appeared to be falling one disrepair. The paint fading from the walls, the floorboards were old and scratched all to hell, and the light fixtures hung crooked. An eerie quietness hung about the building, The only sound being that of their shoes tapping against the floor.

"So...we leave tomorrow...exciting stuff huh?" Wales mumbled and tugged at her shirt collar, The silence obliviously making her uncomfortable. Prinz simply nodded and looked at the floor, Wales letting out a sigh. "Yeah...well, I'm excited, the only glimpse I've seen of the rest of the world was at Dover, you can see France from there." Prinz just gave a nod and the two continued to walk in silence.

The duo walked through the halls of the building and they had soon found the exit. Outside it was still quite dark, with the sun only slightly emerging over the ocean, the low light faces a sense of calm, but that feeling was contrasted by the noise, which was anything but.

"What's going on? Prinz asked, looking at Wales.

"I have no idea...we'll just have to investigate," She said and made the motion of holding a magnifying glass as if she was a detective. Prinz cracked a small smile, which Wales, unfortunately, noticed. "We have found a clue, my dear Watson!" She exclaimed and turned, inspecting Prinz's face with the imaginary magnifying glass.

"W-what are you doing?" Prinz asked and her cheeks turned red, giggling a bit. Wales poked Prinz's cheek, face contorted playfully.

"We have found a shred of happiness, but we must not be distracted." She turned and bent over as if looking at footprints. "We must find the source of this commotion!" Wales walked forward, still bent over.

"You're gonna hit your head on something," Prinz called out and fell in behind. Wales merely continued, 'hmm'ing and 'haw'ing.

"Absolute nonsense, I would never allow such a thing." They kept walking before Wales suddenly stopped. Prinz, who hadn't been paying attention, walked into her, causing Wales to stumble forward.

"Oh...s-sorry" Prinz put her hands over her mouth. Wales turned around with a smile and brushed off the back of her skirt.

"Well I do say, I had no idea you would be interested in such a thing." Wales teased. Prinz turned a bright red and lowered her hands.

"That was not what that was!" Wales just rolled her eyes, grinning ear to ear lecherously.

"Suure thing~." What Prinz couldn't tell was that Wales knew full well it was an accident and was just doing this to distract her.

"No matter, the great detective Sherlock figured out the noise!" Wales whirled around and pointed forward. Prinz followed her arm and had to squint to see what she was pointing at. Far at the end of the docks, two transport ships were waiting in the harbor. Onshore was the source of the commotion, about 300 soldiers, milled about, loading boxes and bags into the back of a few trucks.

"What's going on?" Prinz mumbled, and Wales smiled.

"Britain is exporting democracy! Those men are going to travel Europe, and across Asia to end the war in China; seems the King is determined to put this world back together." Prinz couldn't help but notice her warm smile, and she felt her spirits lift. Not much, but it was enough. Then the statement caught up to her.

"They are going to cross Asia...on foot?" Prinz mumbled, amazed at the idea of such a task, part of her mind flashing back to the failed attempts of invasion in the past.

"That's what will have to happen, they can't follow us on our journey, so they will have to take their own." Prinz nodded, frowning at the reminder of their _own_ impossible mission.

"You...um…" she paused, "Let's go get something to eat." The two left the soldiers behind and navigated their way through the base, and eventually found the mess hall. Prinz could hear a faint melody echoing through the door. Wales' eyes lit up and she quickly opened the door, letting the song flood out. Prinz followed behind her and was surprised by what she saw.

Compared to the quiet and miserable atmosphere of yesterday, the room was lively. British fleet girls milled about, eating and laughing, and a few ships turned one of the tables into a stage, filling with space with an elegant melody.

"It's almost like we're not at war…" The battleship exclaimed and put an arm around Prinz. "Let's find a place to eat." Prinz nodded and Wales guided her to a table with two open seats. The two took their seats and Wales smiled to the others at the table.

"Mornin' Wales." One of the girls groaned, her head rested down on the table. "Who is she?" The ship raised her hand and pointed at Prinz.

"Well, you could introduce yourself first!" Wales snapped. "This is Prinz Eugen, and this miserable sap is Vanguard."

"Oi, I'm not miserable-"

"Prinz Eugen!?" Someone else shouted and leaned in across the table. She was short, probably a destroyer. She placed a finger on her lip and threw her right hand up. "SIEG HEIL!" Prinz stared at her and raised an eyebrow. The girl frowned and slumped down. "No one likes my jokes…"

"And this hyperactive destroyer is Blean," Wales said with a sigh. "Prides herself on being a comedian."

"I AM a comedian!" She snapped and leaned back across the table at Wales, who patted her on the head.

"Sure, whatever floats your boat." Prinz smiled and looked around. "So...where do we get food?"

"Oh, right, you stay here, I'll grab us some food." She left Prinz with the other two ships.

"So!? What is it like out there?" Blean asked and placed her elbows on the table, looking up at Prinz."

"What do you mean?"

"The sea? The North Sea!"

"It's...alright, I guess, the waves are rough but otherwise, it's fine." The destroyer didn't smile as much as she grinned predatorily.

"Big waves!?"

"I uh...maybe…" The destroyer squealed with excitement and Prinz raised an eyebrow.

"She is on convoy escort, that's why she is asking." Vanguard mumbled and raised her head up a bit."

"I wanted to tell her! And don't let Vanguards ATTITUDE annoy you, she just found out she is being scrapped." Vanguard groaned.

"Not scrapped, decommissioned, I have to make way for the new Vanguard. A Lion Class."

Prinz hadn't heard of fleet girls being decommissioned before, but then again, German ships always found themselves in constant demand, no matter how old. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll probably just mill around London for a while, tour the kingdom so they can see what an accomplished ship looks like. And then in two years, I don't know, I'll probably be scrapped then, older ships are on the way out." Prinz frowned and patted her on the shoulder.

"I'm sure you'll get called back into service." The three then just kinda sat there. That was when someone else captured Prinz's attention.

"Alright girls, I'm sure you know this one." A voice echoed out of a speaker and Prinz looked to the nearby stage. "And that means, I do expect you to sing along." Prinz didn't recognize the girl.

"Who is that?" Prinz asked Blean.

"That's Glasgow." Prinz smiled, She had heard of Glasgow back in Germany when she guided the Icelandic refugees back to Britain. Prinz waited as the room fell quiet, and that was when Glasgow began to sing.

" _What care we how light the spray is, What care we for wind or weather, Let her go, boys, every inch is sailing homeward to Mingulay._ " Her melodic voice filled the space and Prinz couldn't help but smile. Soon everyone had joined her, except for Prinz.

" _Hill you ho boys, let her go, boys, heave her head round into the weather, Hill you ho boys, Let her go, boys, Sailing homeward to Mingulay._ " The harmony flowed through the room and once Prinz figured out what the chorus, she said it with the group. She didn't do it out of enjoyment, but more so to distract herself, and anything to lift her spirits.

When the song was over, Glasgow gave a simple bow and climbed down off the table, everyone giving her a clap. "Well, that was nice," Wales said as she walked back, two plates in hand. "Hope this is alright," She set a plate in front of Prinz, "Hashbrowns, eggs, and sausage."

"Yes, thank you!" Prinz exclaimed and grabbed a fork, cutting a piece of the sausage and putting it in her mouth. "Mmmmm" She murmured quietly and Wales laughed.

"Is it good?" Wales asked and Prinz nodded. Wales smiled and took a bite, her eyes widening. "Oh! I wanna melt."

Prinz chuckled and the two of them finished their meal. After which, the group at the table talked and joked. This happy atmosphere made Prinz feel at home, even if she was far away from it, and she was doubted she might ever see Germany again.

Very suddenly, the room fell silent, and Prinz looked back to the makeshift stage, but no one was there. Instead, everyone was looking at the door. In walked two ships, one Prinz recognized as Westfalen. The other had her arm over Westfalens shoulder, using her as support as she hoped in with one leg. The British ships stood up and immediately cleared the space, as one by one, the crippled ships were guided in and sat down. Most of these ships would never sail again, and likely would be scrapped.

After they were seated the rest of the European ships entered the building in silence. The few Russian ships gathered in one corner, and the French and Polish sat together at one table. Prinz scanned the crowd as they filled in, and the British ships Slowly filed out. She saw Nürnberg pushing her way through towards her.

"Hey!" She called and squeezed through a group of destroyers. "How's the food?" She said once she got close.

"Oh, it's good."

"That's great, listen, you wait for me outside okay." Prinz raised an eyebrow. "Just...do it...please?"

"Alright, I will." Nürnberg smiled and gave her a pat before heading back into line. Prinz made her way outside and found a bench to sit at. Soon she was joined by Nürnberg, who waved her up.

"Come on, we gotta grab some stuff."

"Like what?"

"Just come on." Nürnberg smiled and took off in a jog. Prinz sighed and stood up, running after her.

They jogged for several minutes. It would have been more pleasant if it wasn't in the morning cold of English fog.

"Where are we going?" Prinz asked in between breaths.

"Mein Gott, can't you let it be a surprise?"

"Sorry…" Nürnberg sighed and stopped, turning to Prinz.

"You don't have to apologize, I just want to surprise you, I want to have some fun before we leave tomorrow okay?" Prinz just nodded, anxious to see what was in store.

"Yeah...okay, sorry- damn it!"

"You are kind...too nice. Now come on, they're gonna beat us there!" Nürnberg started running again and Prinz just about asked who, but she figured she would let herself be surprised. Nürnberg led her out of the naval base and to a large field behind it.

It appeared that they had been beaten to their destination, as a large group had already gathered. Prinz, eyes darted about the field, on both ends, two sets of pylons marked out goal posts. The field was circled with German and British flags, limp in the lack of a morning breeze.

"Nürnberg...why?" Prinz laughed jokingly. Nürnberg looked at her and bushed.

"I wanted to help you unwind, we got a big day tomorrow. I know it's hard for you right now but I just wanna make sure that you're ha-" Prinz smiled and gently placed her finger over Nürnberg's lips.

"Thank you," She smiled warmly. She brought her hand back and looked over at the field. "Now let's have some fun."

The atmosphere on the field was electric as the two teams gathered, everyone was riled up, and those who chose to sit out on the sideline with flags and made up cheers and chants. Prinz had of course elected to play. She was one of the best shipgirls Germany had in soccer, and she felt like beating her old rivals.

Nürnberg herself sat in the crowd, and before the game started Prinz could hear her shout, " _Das Runde muss ins Eckige_!" which Prinz couldn't help but smile at. Eventually, the crowd calmed as Secretary Ship Hood walked out onto the field with a megaphone.

"Thank you all who could make it here on such short notice. This is truly something very special, especially because the World Cup has been postponed for a...few...year now." The crowd laughed. "But here we are, brought together not just by sport, but by necessity. In the past we have proven to be...bitter enemies," her voice lowered, glancing at Eugen in particular. "But now we need each other. The very world needs us to come together. So let's enjoy this one moment of rest, shall we?" The crowd cheered wildly, already riled up with face paints and banners.

"Now let's get started." The teams organized themselves and Prinz went to go sit on the side as the eleven players for each team gathered on the field. The whistle was blown and the game started.

This may have been a 'casual' game, but that didn't stop people from being competitive. Throughout the game, punches, kicks, and curses were thrown, and when Prinz was on the field, she had gotten kicked in the face; not entirely on purpose, but not entirely by accident. They played well into the afternoon as the food was brought out. It was about four long games before everyone was burnt out.

"That was fun!" Nürnberg shouted as she ran over to Prinz who was chugging down a bottle of water.

"Y-yeah," Prinz gasped as she lowered the bottle. "But wait, you didn't even play!"

Nürnberg just grinned.

"Yeah I know, but I had fun watching you have fun."

Prinz just raised an eyebrow. ' _Is she blushing?'_

That was, until Nurnberg started coughing slightly. "You need some water or something?"

"No...I'm good," Nürnberg said and sighed, looking away. Prinz was about to press Nürnberg when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"That was so much fun!" Wales shouted as Prinz turned around. She threw her arms around Prinz and mashed her face into her chest.

"Mmmph…" was all Prinz managed. She felt a pair of hands on her shoulder and was pulled back.

"Alright, you!" Nürnberg snapped at Wales, eyes a bit wild.

"That is enough." Prinz' voice was uncharacteristically harsh, but she had no idea what her friend had against Wales. Granted, what the British battleship had done was embarrassing.

She stared at Nurnberg, who looked down at her feet.

"Well if you can make traveling as much fun as football, tomorrow won't be so bad." Wales laughed, seemingly oblivious to the cruisers' friction. "See you tomorrow, bright and early, go grab some rest." Wales ran off, leaving Prinz next to Nürnberg.

"What was that about!?" Prinz snapped at Nürnberg.

"I...I'm sorry, just….nevermind." Responded Nürnberg meekly. Prinz shook her head and sighed.

"I'm gonna go to bed, alright?" Nürnberg just nodded as Prinz walked away.

"Sorry…." Was all that Nürnberg could mumble as she watched Prinz walk away. Strange, how they had suddenly switched roles on apologizing...

* * *

Prinz wiggled her way into a large military t-shirt and sighed, taking a look at herself in the mirror. "I guess this will have to do for tonight." She debated taking her leggings off but decided against it seeing as everyone was sleeping in one small room. She smiled a bit as she let her hair down. Flicking out the bathroom lights, she headed to the door of the makeshift bedroom. She cracked open the door to see if anyone was sleeping and to her relief she was alone. Prinz settled into one of the beds and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

The first thing she heard was the screams, then the cannons. She opened her eyes to a scene of pure, absolute horror. The smoldering ruins of a city laid ahead, illuminating the night sky in oranges and reds from the flame. In the distance, she heard Air Raid Sirens, and a handful of piercing beams light the night.

Above planes danced, twisting and turning in intricate loops as each tried to get behind the other. Again she heard the cannons fire and she turned to see two ships standing just behind her. She flinched at the sound of an explosion, then a scream, when she suddenly felt a numb cold. She fell to her knees as the two mysterious ships came closer.

"Who...who are you?" The two figures were completely covered in shadow even as they moved closer.

"You _know_ who we are," one of the figures echoed. It extended an arm, stroking the side of Prinz's face, sending a chill through her body.

"Hipper…." Prinz gasped, eyes tearing up. "I….I didn't want this...any of this, to happen." The second figure, Blücher, let out a small laugh and took her hand.

"It's better like this. We thought you would join us." Prinz pulled her hand back.

"N-no...I want you back, but not like this. Please…" Her voice was nigh shattered, the desperate plea swallowed by the night. Hipper leaned forward, face to face, and Prinz could make out a smirk.

"Oh, but this is so much easier," Hipper said in a sultry voice. Without warning, Hipper had her hands on the side of Prinz's face. Prinz hardly had time react before Hipper placed a kiss on Prinz's lips. Prinz tried to pull away but she was frozen in place. Her eyes teared up in shock and let out a muffled cry for help.

"Is something the matter?" Blücher teased and ran a finger down Prinz's neck. She squinted and suddenly felt something trickle into her mouth. The trickle turned into a steady flow as the same chilling liquid filled her throat and lungs. She gargled for air as her mouth filled, causing Prinz's struggle to slowly stop. Ever so gently, Hipper pulled back gently and licked her lips.

"Isn't that better?"

Prinz crumpled forward into Hippers arms. Hipper let out a playful laugh and lowered Prinz down, resting her head on her lap. Prinz body felt like it was made of ice as it continued to chill. "You'll get used to it," Hipper whispered gently, stroking her hair.

"We better see if it's working." Blücher giggled and grabbed Prinz's hand. Inspecting her wrist, she smirked before turning it for Prinz to see. "Look at that."

Prinz knew she shouldn't look, that she _couldn't_ , but she couldn't help it. She watched as her veins slowly turned from blue to black. The strange liquid drained into her body, leaving her gasping for air.

"Please... _please_ stop…" She gagged.

"Guess it's my turn to have some fun." Blücherlet out a sinister laugh and sat down on Prinz's stomach. Prinz tried to fight but soon Blücher had kissed her, with Hipper locking her head into place. Blücher made a small humming noise before a torrent of ice cold liquid streamed into her. This time it didn't pool up as Prinz struggled to swallow lungful after lungful.

"Awww, she must like that. Look." Hipper smiled and grabbed her hand, holding it up, her skin slowly turned a darker and darker shade until it was an inky black. Bücher giggled and the flow finally stopped as she pulled back, leaving Prinz to draw heavy breaths.

"That was so much fun, and just look at you." Prinz tried to shake her head but her body wouldn't respond. She tried to speak, scream, cry even, but _nothing_.

"I think it's time for you to take a little nap now~," Hipper giggled and let go of Prinz. The duo was waving as she sank into the water, sly grins draped on their faces. What little light remained slowly give way to pitch black.

"Are you awake?" A voice echoed and Prinz flinched, opening her eyes. She looked around and sat up. Nürnberg was next to her. "Can you mo-" Prinz cut her over when she threw her arms around her and sobbed.

"Hey...shhh, it's okay." She whispered warmly and laid Prinz back down. "I'm here….. _what is it with me waking you from nightmares all the time_?" She uttered under her breath, too quiet for the sobbing Heavy Cruiser to hear. They sat like this, waiting out the long night.

* * *

((Once again, thank you all for taking time to read this next chapter, also I have to give a huge thank you to CabooseHelpsU, who reviews and edits my work. Pleas leave a review if you enjoy, or if you didn't.))


	4. Chapter 4

**Broken, Not Beaten**

 **Chapter 4**

Written by Twitchy1414

Beta'd by CabooseHelpsU

* * *

The chamber flashed with the emergency light, increasing in intensity with a growing cacophony of noise. Heavy Cruiser Prinz Eugen shrugged into her rigging as a machine lowered it to her back.

She relaxed as the familiar weight settled, comfortable in spite of the multi-ton displacement load. Prinz heard various clinging and rattling noises, probably belonging to the other girls in the Launching Docks.

A voice crackled over the headset. Prinz took a deep breath and looked to her left. " _Attention, attention all shipgirls, you are clear for launch. Good luck… and God help you all."_

A klaxon blared, overmatching the rumble of the opening blast doors. She couldn't help but think they looked like the gaping jaws of a steel beast. Momentarily, the Setting Sun blinded the shipgirls as they sailed forth.

Secretary Ship Hood pulled forward, and crisply turned around to address the sortie. "Come, let us form a proper formation, if you please."

With crisp precision, the warships maneuvered into position with minimal cursing as they sailed out of the building's shadow.. Prinz had to squint in the bright light, but she could make out the figures of other ships sitting on the surrounding docks and piers. They were cheering as the group sailed on, some crying out to those they knew.

"Oiiii~, come back safe Churchill!" A group of destroyers and destroyer escorts waved from a pier, jumping up and down with enthusiasm. Churchill waved back, hollering over her shoulder, "Roger that, guys!"

They sailed further through the surprisingly clear waters of the base, passing the submarine pens where a small gaggle of German U-Boats swam. "Versenke uns einige Abyssalen!" They called, raising their fists as one.

"Ja? Wie viele!?" Nürnberg asked, even louder as they got further away.

"Alle von ihnen, wenn du kannst!" They replied with a laugh, and Prinz couldn't help but quietly join in..

A hand tapped the heavy cruiser's shoulder, and she spun to face Hood. "Excuse me, if you would be so kind, what did they just say?" The Battlecruiser asked, voice gentle yet powerful.

"Well, they told us to sink some Abyssals for them, then I asked how many. They said 'all of them!"

A smile graced the Secretary Ship, and the gaggle of British escorts- who had been not inconspicuous in eavesdropping- joined her.

"Ooooh...I jus' dun't understand them is all, such a hard language."

"Typisches Englisch!" Nürnberg, who was in the middle of the formation, giggled at the escort- who Prinz _thought_ was Dublin.

Prinz, failing to hold back a small grin, chastised her friend, "Nürn, das nicht sehr nett."

Confused, Hood stared at them blankly, questioning but politely choosing to remain silent. Dublin, on the other hand, growled in impatience.

"Could ya damn Jerry's speak English?!"

Tirpitz, on the other side of the formation groaned. "Was würden sie tun, wenn wir nur Deutsch sprechen würden?"

Dublin was shaking now, "ENGLISH YA LITTLE-!" She cut off at Hood's glare, having the decency to look away.

"As my compatriot has already asked, please speak English. We don't need a language barrier damaging our cohesion with this mission," Hood directed, her imperious gaze resting on her Teutonic counterparts.

"Yes ma'am…" They chorused with various degrees of emotion.

Short of a few brief operational commands, they traveled in complete silence. They had gone silent the moment they left the final reaches of the Naval Sector. For Prinz, the tension was palpable, and did nothing to help her fraying nerves.

Behind every wave, inside the occasional squall, and above every cloud, the Abyssals could be waiting as they sailed into the jaws of a trap. A trap not unlike what Bismarck, Dunkerque, Hipper and Blücher and-

 _No! I can't think about that. Don't think, don't think!_

It didn't work, and the journey was filled with her quiet weeping.

* * *

The small fleet moved onwards away from Edinburgh and out into the North Sea. They sailed along the Scottish coast, and Hood made sure they stayed there. Prinz could see why, they had no idea if any Abyssals were still out there, and along the coast they were under protection of the many coastal batteries that lined the shore. Under any wave, within every storm cloud, around every island and ice flow…the enemy could be anywhere.

"So… what is our first stop?" Ark Royal asked quietly, breaking the silence.

"We had planned on Reykjavik as our first stop, which will take two...three days?" Wales said, looking at Hood to see if she was wrong.

"That's about right, two and a half days to Iceland, two days to Greenland, and then one day to Canada. Or, we could technically shorten the trip by going straight across…"

"Yes let's do that!" Churchill exclaimed, sailing up from her position in the rear and up next to Hood. "The sooner we get done with this boring mission, the better!"

"Yes, we _could_ try that, but of course...we will have no cover, docking, refueling, air cover, nor will we have intelligence on what could be in the middle of the Atla-"

"L'right L'right, I get it," Churchill grumbled and slowly drifted back to her position. Prinz sighed as the group convalescing back into silence. She settled to once more watch as the coast slipped by.

Finally, the land stopped.

From the maps they had all memorized, they were at the Nor 'Eastern tip of North Ronaldsy, the final island of the Orkney Isles. There was a small, nameless settlement atop the cliffs, but no humans were in sight.

This time, it seemed there would be no final patriotic sendoff. Prinz figured that aside from the military personnel, no humans would know of this mission. After all, Hood, Prince of Wales and Duke of York were all extremely famous, and were the poster girls of the British Kanmasu propaganda. Losing them all on a single "suicide" mission would certainly hit morale, which was already low considering the blockade.

But then again…Just before she had left, Nürn had excitedly shown Prinz a particular poster, depicting a wounded Lion, supported by a colorful Rooster, a diving Eagle, and a giant Bear. A caption at the bottom, " **UNITED WE STAND** " was pressed in large words. In the background were all the flags of the EU, and other animals too: a Bull, a Wolf, and an Elk.

The message was clear. " _Europe will stand as one."_

If that meant risking several famous warships- Tirpitz and Prinz were technically included in this- then perhaps Britain would be okay no matter the results of the mission.

 _The mission that they probably would not survive._

"There she goes…" Dublin said, voice filled with nostalgia. Together, the group turned to see the last bit of the Orkney Islands slip over the horizon.

"We…we're really leaving…" Wales uttered, expression tense with a thousand emotions.

"… _Eng-land old I-reland, Eng-land old I-reland._ "

Ark Royal began to sing quietly, tears in her eyes.

" _Eng-land old I-reland, Eng-land old I-reland, Eng-land old I-reland. Hauley Hauley Ho!_ "

Taking a sharp breath, Wales cheered, "Well, come on lassies...pick it up!" She too began to sing with Royal.

" _Paddy McGinty. Paddy, Jock and Jackie too. Oh Paddy McGinty. Hauley Hauley Ho!"_

Prinz, Nürnberg, and Tirpitz of course didn't know the lyrics, so they waited for the British ships to finish. After Hood looked over to Prinz.

"Is… something wrong?" Hood asked, concerned at the silence of the German shipgirls. It took Prinz a moment for her to realize Hood what Hood was asking about.

"Oh...no, we just don't know the words to that song."

At her admission, Hood nodded and smiled. "Well, you will certainly have to learn, as we are stuck together for a long time."

"Why your songs?" Nürnberg said and crossed her arms. "We have our own."

Dublin chuckled. "Well then sing us somethin!"

"N-No...we're good…" Tirpitz stammered, looking at her feet. Prinz nodded in agreement.

"Ooooh I see how it is." Dublin said with a laugh. "Typical Germans eh? All talk. 'We want our place in the sun'...'Germany over everything!'"

Prinz clenched her fist and took a deep breath. She really wasn't in the mood, and could have drilled the destroyer right then and there, but she instead tried to remember a song. She found one, starting loud, and soon Nürnberg and Tirpitz had joined her.

 _Der mächtigste König im Luftrevier_

 _Ist des Sturmes gewaltiger Aar._

 _Die Vöglein erzittern, vernehmen sie nur_

 _Sein rauschendes Flügelpaar._

 _Wenn der Löwe in der Wüste brüllt,_

 _Dann erzittert das tierische Heer._

 _Ja, wir sind die Herren der Welt_

 _Die Könige auf dem Meer._

 _Tirallala, tirallala, hoi! hoi!_

 _Wir sind die Herren der Welt_

 _Die Könige auf dem Meer._

The trio finished the 1st verse and chorus with a cry as the final words echoed out over the ocean. With heavy breaths, Prinz looked over at the others. The British ships peered at them wide eyes and slack jawed.

"Well...I do say...good job." Hood mumbled and clapped a bit. "Now...what does that mean?"

"What, you don't know the words or meaning to our songs? I guess you'll need to figure it out~" Nürnberg said, grinning sarcastically.

"Not fair…that's not fair! I want to know!" Dublin whined. Hood and York nodded behind her, and the trio slouched in a pout.

 **.*.*.*.**

The rest of the first leg of the voyage remained uneventful. Songs were sung, but no longer with the same spirit as the beginning of the voyage. As the nights passed, the group traveled at a snail's pace, maintaining complete silence.

It would be two days before they saw land again, something Prinz was grateful for.

"This is it…." Churchill mumbled in disbelief. "Iceland...it looks so...abandoned."

Churchill was right. No signs of life could be seen on the shore, no birds, sea lions, fish...nothing.

"Everything _is_ gone." Dublin said quietly. "We lost over half of the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron here….Southampton….Falmouth….Nottingham..." Dublin bit her lip and looked down.

Sherwood in a bout of adorableness that was reserved for destroyers and destroyer escorts, reached up to give Dublin a hug. At least, she tried, until the cruiser bent down, ghost of a smile on her face.

"We should be coming up to the city _Reykjavik_ shortly, so keep your eyes peeled. We don't if there are Abyssals to ambush," York said from the front, the column of ships slowing as they rounded the Southern Peninsula. Prinz felt a surge of excitement at finally seeing another country's capital.

That excitement was soon squashed by what Ark Royal uttered.

"Oh… my… god…." Royal mumbled and looked into the distance. Prinz peered into the distance, barely able to make out the shape of the city.

"What's wrong?" Nürnberg asked, but Royal didn't answer. As the group sailed closer, Prinz could see why Royal was speechless.

The city of Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland...had been _leveled_. Buildings were collapsed into rubble, those that stood had been charred by fire. The docks had been blown away, chunks of burnt wood floating in the water. They were still too far out to smell anything, not yet, but if it's anything like the destroyed fishing hamlets Prinz had seen…

"Like somethin' out of a goddamn war movie," Dublin muttered.

Prinz took a deep breath and turned away from the ruins of the city. She could hardly bear to look at it. She had seem destruction on a smaller scale, small fishing villages and harbors, but never an entire city. This was what she was fighting to stop.

"Come on...we can't just stay here. " Hood said quietly. The group slowly drifted away from the city and back towards open sea.

"Wait, we're just gonna leave!?" Wales exclaimed surprised.

"We have nowhere to refuel, and as it appears no one is…" Hood paused and looked around. A faint rumbling could be heard in the distance. "You hear that?" Prinz nodded and looked around for the source of the noise.

"What is that?" Sherwood asked.

"It doesn't sound Abyssal…" Prinz said and scanned the horizon. She glanced over a small black speck, almost missing it. It was leaving from the Southern Peninsula. "Their, something is moving across the water." The group whirled around to look at it.

"Send a couple fighters to go see what that is." Hood said to Royal.

"Yes ma'am!" Royal said and swung her rifle off her shoulder. She pulled back the bolt and grabbed a brown bullet from her pocket. Placing it into the breach. Royal slammed the breach closed and raised the Rifle to her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the trigger. The rifle cracked as the bullet left the muzzle, traveling about 10 meters before transforming into a formation of three Fairey Fulmars. The carrier fighters spread out and flew towards their target.

"Well?! What do ya see?" Dublin shouted impatiently.

"Oh, do keep it down please," Royal hissed, eyes closed and a hand on her ear. "Almost there…" She muttered, deep in concentration. "It's...its an RIB…" Ark Royal opened her eyes again and Prinz could see the Fulmars turning back.

"A Rubber Inflatable Boat, huh…" Hood said and put a hand on her chin. The small craft slowly grew closer and larger, and soon Prinz was able to make the shapes if people sitting inside.

"Who d'ya think they are?" Churchill said quietly, yet no-one answered. The Fulmars then returned, landing on the carrier deck and transforming back into a small bullet, which Royal put back in her pocket. As the rumbling of the engine grew louder, the details of the passengers could be made more clearly.

Piloting the RIB was a large, burly man attempting to smoke a cigarette in the high speeds of the boat. Sitting at the front was a smaller, petite woman; her raven ponytail whipping in the wind. Both were clad in winter uniforms of the Royal Marines, and and were armed with hi-powered rifles.

"Welcome to Iceland." The woman said when the boat arrived. "I'm Lieutenant Douglas, and this is Corporal McManus, Royal Marines." She stuck out a hand to Hood, who shook it firmly.

"Good to see people are actually here ma'am. But...what are the Royal Marines doing out here?"

"When Iceland was on the verge of collapsing," Corporal McManus spoke, voice rumbling like gravel, "We got sent in to help organize an evacuation of the civilians...only to find out that the evacuation didn't include us…"

Lieutenant Douglas glared at him, as if it wasn't the first time he had such complaints, before turning her attention back to Hood.

"We man the radio tower, maintaining and operating it for whenever the mainlands attempt communication- not that it usually works, thanks to Abyssal interference. As far as we know, we are the only people on this God-forsaken frozen rock." She shook her head. "You gals wanna come and eat before you head off to Greenland? If not we'll just radio out that we saw you."

Hood looked to the group, who nodded eagerly.

Douglas laughed, surprisingly beautiful for a military woman. "I take that as a yes then. Just...don't ask what is in the beef stew. Follow us"

The marines turned the boat around a headed off, the ship girls following not far behind.

Hanging back with Hood, Nurnberg frowned. "Are we really able to waste this time like this?"

"Listen, if ya wanna keep going, you're more than welcome to do so. We will catch up wi-" Sherwood was in the middle of saying when she was cut off.

"No!" Prinz snapped, cutting off the others. "Nobody will separate on this mission. I c-...I mean, _we_ can't afford that now." She glared at Nurnberg, daring her to say otherwise.

Hood shrugged, "I don't see why we should then. One never knows what could happen until it's too late." She and the British ships turned, with Tirpitz trailing behind. The Bismarck class battleship's gaze was filled with concern, but Nurnberg beat her to the punch.

"Just what was that about?" She whispered harshly.

"It's nothing! I just don't want to be seperated," Prinz mumbled under her breath.

"Do you not care about that?"

"I didn't say that." Nürnberg snapped. "I'm just... worried about you."

Prinz said nothing, shouldering her friend aside as she resumed the formation. Nürnberg just cursed under her breath, muttering about stubbornness.

* * *

The group followed the marines back to their base, a small cave that was in the side of a large cliff on the coast. Thankfully, the cave was at sea level so the ships didn't have to walk inside and leave their gear on the shore. The cave was dimly lit, a string of lights hung from the ceiling, and a few floodlights were set up on tripods to overlook the water in the cave.

The floor of the cave gradually raised up creating a kind of natural boat ramp for the RIB

to be pulled up on. There was only extra RIB, but no other Marines were in sight. None of the shipgirls had the courage to ask about that.

Prinz stepped up on the rock, shrugging her equipment off to stretch. To the side in water sat some kind of floating platform, a large box and antenna attached to it. "What's that?" Prinz asked McManus, who was tying the boat down.

"That right there is out radio tower." Prinz looked at it, finding the idea that that was a radio tower quite absurd. McManus saw her expression a chuckled. "We take it out every morning and radio London for orders, then tell us if they need to pass on a message. Coordinating with them and the lads in Greenland, we get some windows of communication between the continents."

"Oh...are their Royal Marines in Greenland too?"

The marine shook his head.

"No, the USA paradropped some Green Berets. Some Staff Sergeant Hatzenbihler...he's a real piece of work, that one." Prinz hummed, turning her attention to the deeper part of the cave.

Up away from the water was the base, if you could call it that. A table, four cots, each soldiers' equipment, and a large supply of rations were the only things in sight.

"Make yourself at home...or I guess our version of that word anyways." Douglas said sarcastically, leaning against the wall. The group stayed almost completely silent as they ate their- to be frank, subpar- meal.

The break passed by too quickly.

"Thank you kindly for the food Lieutenant." Hood said and shook her hand. "But I do believe it is time for us to move on." The soldier looked up at her and smiled.

"I suppose it is ain't it? Well then, safe travels, we'll radio Greenland an' let them know your coming."

"We we appreciate it...come on ladies." Hood said, walking over to the water, and putting her gear back on. The others groaned and stood up, following suit.

Once ready, the small fleet sailed out into the cold waters of the Atlantic, leaving Iceland to slip over the horizon.

The second leg short voyage was just at uneventful as the first, the only new thing was the occasional iceberg that drifted past. Finally, the night came. Above, the heavens sparked and danced. The air was clear, and the skies were almost filled with gleaming stars, like the Milky way.

"Prinz?"" Nürnberg whispered, staring upwards.

"Yeah?" Prinz said just as quietly.

Nürnberg didn't speak for a long while. "Are….Are you scared?"

To Prinz, streaks of tears could be seen, shining down her friend's face in the starlight.

"I….don't know." She hesitated, then looked back. "Are you?"

"Yes. Yes, I'm scared."

Prinz bit her lip, desperate to find the right words, _something_ to comfort her one and only best friend.

Nothing came.

* * *

By the next day, they had made good time, and reached the coast of Greenland at midday. Prinz looked up at the high ice shelves, stretching high above the water. The group had stopped for a rest as Hood, Royal, and York gathered to discuss the rest of journey.

"It's….rather beautiful." Churchill said softly, as if her own voice would shatter the cliffs. Prinz looked at her and smiled a bit, snowflakes slowly drifting down and melting as they touched the water. The ocean itself was eerily calm, almost like a deep blue mirror, stretching on for eternity.

"I've never seen snow…." Sherwood mumbled, trying to catch the snowflakes in her hand.

"It doesn't hardly snow anymore." Nürnberg said with a frown. "Even in the German-Swiss Alps, only a few inches were recorded this year."

"That little?!" Churchill suddenly exclaimed in sharp contrast to her gentle voice from earlier.

"As the Earth heats up, the only weather cold and moist enough is up at the Poles." Tirpitz said quietly, arms outstretched to the side as she slowly spun around. Prinz meanwhile, was scanning the horizon, she knew that the likelihood of Abyssals being this far north were slim, but it didn't hurt to check.

"Well, let's keep going ladies." Hood suddenly announced, to nearly everyone's dismay.

"Ain't we gonna find somewhere t' rest for a while!?" Churchill whined, turning to face the secretary and senior ships.

"It's too far to any of the known port locations, and if we stay here too long, the cold weather is going to get to us." Wales explained, clearly cutting off Hood.

"Seeing as our mission's purpose will occur in the Pacific, we weren't winterized before this." York added, "We'll freeze if we don't move."

"Yeah, but what about the Americans? Don't we need to contact them?" Sherwood countered.

"Chances are they have seen us, and if they haven't, we will reach the mouth of the Saint Lawrence by tomorrow, and there we can rest. " Hood responded quickly, turning westward.

"Resume formation, let's go." The majority of the group was silent, but they each sported annoyed scowls. As they sailed on, Prinz watched the high ice cliffs, and for a brief moment, she swore she saw something glint in the distance.

After several tense moments, she looked forward in an effort to catch up.

* * *

Once again, the small group was on the move, the final stretch from Greenland to Canada was a short one, and it would not be long before they would be able to see the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. The coast of the East most Canadian province came into view on November 15th, the trip across the Atlantic had taken five and half days.

"So...this is it huh?" Prinz said quietly, her eyes taking in the shore of her fourth new country. The coast was rocky, with cliffs that fluctuated in height as they moved along. On some of the cliffs sat the foundations and structures of bombed out houses, no doubt destroyed by Abyssal naval fire and bombers.

"Now where do we go eh? Just sail around until we find a port?" Dublin said, somewhat frustrated.

"Well, if we follow the coast we will eventually come across Belle Isle, it's been turned into a naval fortress. From there we can get an escort fleet to take us up the Saint Lawrence." Hood explained, most definitely annoyed.

"Alright alright...sorry ma'am." Dublin responded starkly. Hood let out a frustrated sigh, but said nothing. In the distance, the faint sound of booming.

"What…is that? " Prinz asked nervously, the faint booming slowly growing louder.

"I see nothing up ahead but…hold on." York paused and raised he hands to her eyes. "There is an island up ahead and….holy shit!"

"What's wrong?" Hood demanded.

"There is a massive battle…like huge!" York lowered her hands. "That must be Belle Isle…"

A faint whine resounded in the air, like a mosquito buzzing in Prinz' ear. Then...

"Air contact, 2'o'clock!" Dublin called, readying her small AA batteries in an instant.

There were just over three dozen, split into 5 groups. The Abyssalized Stukas wailed with a siren even more horrible than their historical counterpart, and the shipgirls could _feel_ the malevolence as they closed in.

"Agh, not again, it's just like the first time!" Wales cursed as she too activated her AA. "Why does it _always_ have to start with bloody airplanes, eh?!"

Next to her, Ark Royal shouldered her rifle, angling it as high as she dared; three bursts of fire, and a dozen Spitfires split off. Below, the barking staccatos increased in concentrated bursts of deadly shrapnel and shells.

But it wasn't enough; the British fighters had too little time to find speed after takeoff, and the bombers were nosing down at a brutal velocity, intent on delivering their payload from hell.

Hood gave a terse command, and the formation split into anti-aircraft evasive maneuvers. Cutting back and leaning hard to the right, Prinz just barely avoided the first set of bombs, leaping geysers of water and shrapnel all around her. Blinking the water from her eyes, she fired back with an animalistic snarl.

"I." Ka- **fwoom**! "Will." Ba **-blam!** "NOT." A plane erupted in flames. "FAIL!" Another bomber simply disappeared, bursting into nothing but dust. " _AGAIN_!"

Enunciating each word with a volley from her eight 203mm rifles, 105mm/L65s, and Flakvierling, she thought back to Bismarck's first fate, their only true sortie together. The anxious concern as she left the crippled battleship, the worry when she heard the desperate signals for Luftwaffe assistance, and then the emptiness, the heart-freezing guilt that was never quite filled. _She had failed_.

 _It might be my former enemies with me now, and not Bismarck, but never again will my charges be sunk before me!_

Already, half of the bombers had been destroyed, and nearly all of them had missed under the intensity of the combined AA barrage. Prinz looked over, saw that her friends were still alright, still firing, and she believed that everything just _might_ be okay. They really _could_ survive this…

More sirens wailed, and the world flashed white.

* * *

 **Editor's Note: Caboose here. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know that** _ **did**_ **, when it became ready to publish. Here's an update for me; I've got another concussion, and am going to be leaving West Point for good. Probably gonna find another college with good ROTC without the stresses of West Point. What does this mean for you, dear readers? I'm probably going to find more time to write! Now, for this story….Twitchy's been quite busy, but rest assured as soon as she gets things written in basic form, I can get it ship shape and ready to publish. I probably rewrote 2/3 of this chapter, sentence by sentence, so I'm happy with it.**

 **Where do you think we're going with Prinz, development wise? Do we have proper British accents when writing Dublin and Hood? It's too early for shipping, so I won't ask about that (and it all depends on Twitchy's approval, too!).**

 **Also, you can just look up the words of the sea shanties to find them, they are great.**

 **Well, Caboose out!**

* * *

(Hi, it's Twitchy. I want to say thank you for anyone who has stuck around to read what I write. Its nearly be a year since i last updated it, but I still wanna get it finished, and I'll try my best to write more regularly. Thank you again for sticking around. Thank you to Caboose, who does so much work to make each chapter what it is. Peace.)


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